This past fall we had an opportunity to “take a sad song, and make it better.”

Custom Thank You Cards for NYC Marathon FundraisingLisa, sister to Nancy, contacted us in need of some custom Thank You Cards. She and her sister recently ran the NYC marathon (Lisa’s 3rd time and Nancy’s 1st) and in the months leading up to it, raised thousands of dollars for Colon Cancer research. You see, this past year they lost their father to that terrible disease.

The sisters wanted cards that referenced Colon Cancer research (which often uses a royal blue ribbon as a symbol of hope) but also made clear their unique accomplishment – running the most famous race in the world. Their father, Russell was an avid runner and ran the NYC Marathon an incredible 13 times (he also completed 13 other marathons)! You can read their inspiring story here and here.

Our design solution was a flat printed card with an illustration of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge filled with some of the 47,000 runners at the start of the marathon. In the foreground, two women run side-by side in navy blue (the rest of the people are a sea of lighter shades of blue.) We flat printed these on white folded note cards and the interior, thanked the recipient for supporting them all 26.2 miles.

Counterclockwise from top left: Flat printed Thank You card with navy envelope, message printed inside card, quote on back of cardOne of the most touching parts of Lisa and Nancy’s story was the fact that their Dad used to quote lyrics from his favorite bands to give them advice, and a few of these songs kept them going throughout training and the race. We printed his token sentiment from his favorite song, Hey Jude by The Beatles on the back of the cards. We think Russell would be beyond proud of what his daughters have done to turn their sorrow for losing him into an accomplishment that will inspire others and save lives.